Snake River: Difference between revisions

Power development of the Snake River began in the early 20th century as cities, farms, mines and industry grew around the river. The first small hydroelectric plant on the Snake River, [[Swan Falls Dam]], was built in 1901,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.idahopower.com/community-recreation/recreation/parks-and-campgrounds/swan-falls-park/|title=Swan Falls Park|publisher=Idaho Power|date=|accessdate=November 27, 2023}}</ref> followed by one at [[American Falls, Idaho|American Falls]] in 1902.<ref name="Idaho Power hydro plants"/> Many other projects followed, particularly around Shoshone Falls where the natural drop of the river offered great energy potential. After developing the Milner Dam irrigation scheme, I. B. Perrine built a hydroelectric plant at Shoshone Falls in 1907.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://magicvalley.com/news/local/hidden-history-the-power-plant-at-shoshone-falls/article_e03d8ccf-eb52-5ddd-a6c5-ec581a16472d.html|title=Hidden History: The Power Plant at Shoshone Falls|work=The Times-News|author=Matthews, Mychel|date=December 20, 2012|accessdate=November 27, 2023}}</ref> Small private utilities built power plants at Salmon Falls (1910) and Thousand Springs (1912). [[Idaho Power]] was incorporated in 1915, and acquired all the aforementioned plants the following year. It proceeded to build a second, larger plant at Shoshone Falls in 1921, and another plant at Twin Falls in 1935.<ref name="Idaho Power hydro plants">{{cite web|url=https://www.idahopower.com/energy-environment/energy/energy-sources/hydroelectric/hydroelectric-plants/|title=Hydroelectric Plants|publisher=Idaho Power|accessdate=November 26, 2023}}</ref> The advent of electricityelectric pumps opened up large new areas to agriculture, which had previously been limited to land where water could flow by gravity. The Minidoka Project, which included the Bureau of Reclamation's first hydroelectric plant in Idaho, was an early adopter of this system. The project generated more power than it needed, and surplus was sold to nearby towns such as [[Burley, Idaho|Burley]] and [[Rupert, Idaho|Rupert]], which created their own municipal electric systems.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Wired Northwest: The History of Electric Power, 1870s-1970s|author=Hirt, Paul W.|publisher=University Press of Kansas|year=2012|isbn=9780700618736|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1FmqEAAAQBAJ}}</ref>{{rp|89–92}}